Enhanced Coordination between the World Bank and Regional Development Banks as a Means to Reduce Perceived Inequalities at the World Bank

This paper will discuss some of the issues of legitimacy and inequalities perceived to be pervasive in the governance structure of the World Bank (WB). It will explore proposals of the Meltzer, Malan and Zedillo Commissions on how to improve such perceived inadequacies. It also considers the way in which the interactions between the regional development banks (RDBs) and the World Bank can be used to improve problems of perceived inequalities at the World Bank. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, the World Bank held a series of meetings with key regional development banks during which all the institutions made promises to enhance cooperation. This paper argues that a clearer and more formal modality needs to be adopted to improve the interactions between the World Bank and the RDBs. This is vital because it would reduce the potential of duplication of services / operations and also increase the legitimacy of actions taken by both the WB and RDBs.